De novo head and neck cancer after liver transplant with antibody-based immunosuppression induction

Background Powerful antibody-based immunosuppression induction is now used routinely during organ transplantation, and may place patients at even higher risk of post-transplant cancer. Materials and Methods Incidence of de-novo head and neck cancer was extracted from the records of 1685 consecutive adult, deceased donor liver transplant recipients with a minimum 1-year follow-up from 2001 to 2015. There were 121 patients positively identified as having developed de-novo head and neck cancer post-liver transplant. Records of these patients were analyzed to determine demographics, history of cancer pre-liver transplant, de-novo cancer type and location, treatment modalities, and alcohol and tobacco exposure. Results Of the 121 patients who developed cancer of the head and neck (7%), there were 103 cutaneous (6%) and 25 non-cutaneous (1%). For non-cutaneous cancers, factors associated with increased risk of cancer included alcohol abuse (p<0.001), any smoking history (p=0.05), and increasing exposure to tobacco (p<0.01). Ten-year Cox regression patient survival demonstrates a survival disadvantage for patients who develop non-cutaneous cancer (p=0.06), but a survival advantage for patients who develop cutaneous cancer (p<0.01). Conclusions The incidence and pattern of head and neck cancer in this population of liver transplant patients was similar to those published previously, suggesting that induction immunosuppression does not increase risk of these types of cancers. Long term survival was worse for patients with non-cutaneous cancers, but better for those with cutaneous cancers, though the reason is unclear

Effects of Malting and Fermentation on the amount of reducing Sugars and Soluble Proteins and free Amino Acids in White Macia and Red Tannin Sorghum flour

The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of malting and fermentation methods on the amounts of sugars and proteins in food grade Macia and Red tannin sorghum flours. Measurements to determine the amounts of reducing sugars, soluble protein, and free amino acids, in sorghum flour samples were performed. Grain sorghum kernels (5.2kg) from each sorghum variety were cleaned and kernel hardness tested using Tangential Abrasive Decortication Device (TADD).Half of the kernels (2.6kg) were milled to get regular (Rg) flour samples and the other half (2.6kg) were malted and milled to get malted (mal).flour samples. About 300g of both regular (Rg) and malted (mal) flour samples from both sorghum cultivars (in duplicate) were fermented, dried and milled again to get regular and fermented (Rgfe) and malted and fermented (malfe) flour samples. Extracts were prepared for all (8) flour samples by weighing about 0.5g of flour into centrifuge tubes, then 10 ml of water was added, vortexes 3 times, boiled for 15min and then centrifuged at 5250 RCF for 10 min. The reducing sugars in the extracted material of the regular, fermented, malted and malted/fermented flours from both food grade white Macia and the red tannin sorghum samples were determined by the (DNS) colorimetric methods with glucose as the standard and the absorbance values were read at 540 mm (Miller, 1959).The quantitative measurement of free amino acids of the supernatant material from all flour samples from both the food grade white macia and red tannin sorghum samples were performed using the ninhydrin reaction (Plummer, 1978). The amounts of soluble proteins in the supernatant material were measured using the Lowry method (Lowry et al, 1951). Results showed an increase in reducing sugars, soluble proteins and free amino acids in the malted and fermented flour samples compared to the control or regular flour samples, respectively. Malting and fermentation resulted in increased amounts of reducing sugars, soluble proteins and free amino acids in both food grade Macia and Red tannins sorghum flour. Statistical analysis results showed a significant (p < 0.05) difference between malting and fermentation but no significant (p >0.05) difference between the two sorghum varieties (Macia and Red sorghum). Malting and fermentation may be used to improve the nutritional quality of sorghum food products

L’influence de la variable niveau socioculturel dans les formes d’adresse

En el presente artículo se muestran los resultados obtenidos en un estudio sobre la incidencia de la variable nivel sociocultural en la elección de las formas de tratamiento tú y usted en el español peninsular actual. Para llevarlo a cabo, en primer lugar se han estudiado las principales características de esta compleja variable sociolingüística y, a continuación, se ha realizado una encuesta a una muestra de un total de 190 estudiantes con edades comprendidas entre los 18 y los 25 años residentes en la ciudad de Salamanca. Para ello, se ha creado una encuesta ad hoc que contiene distintas situaciones comunicativas en las que se combinan variables sociales y contextuales, de acuerdo con la bibliografía especializada. Los resultados se han procesado estadísticamente y permiten observar el importante papel que desempeña en la elección pronominal el nivel sociocultural del interlocutor y también –aunque en menor medida– el del propio hablante.This article shows the results obtained in a study about the incidence of the social class variables when choosing between the address forms tú and usted in current peninsular Spanish. In order to carry this study out, the main characteristics of this variable have been primarily studied, and secondly, a survey was given to a sample of 190 students with ages between 18 and 25 years old who reside in the city of Salamanca (Spain). To do that, an ad hoc survey has been created, containing different communicative situations that combine social and contextual variables, according to the specialized bibliography. The results have been statistically processed and allow us to observe the important role that social class variables of the interlocutor, but also –to a lesser extent– of the speaker, take when choosing one of the pronouns.Cet article présente les résultats obtenus au cours d’une étude sur l’incidence de la variable du niveau socioculturel dans l’élection des formes d’adresse tú et usted en espagnol péninsulaire actuel. Pour réaliser l’étude, nous avons présenté les caractéristiques principales de cette complexe variable sociolinguistique et, ensuite, nous avons effectué une enquête sur un total de 190 étudiants d’entre 18 et 25 ans qui résident à Salamanque (Espagne). Pour ce faire, nous avons créé une enquête ad hoc qui contient différentes situations communicatives dans lesquelles sont combinées variables sociales et contextuelles, conformément à la bibliographie spécialisée. Les résultats ont été traités statistiquement et permettent d’observer l’importance du rôle du niveau socioculturel de l’interlocuteur et du locuteur –à une moindre échelle– dans l’élection pronominale

Decomposition of homogeneous polynomials with low rank

Let $F$ be a homogeneous polynomial of degree $d$ in $m+1$ variables defined over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero and suppose that $F$ belongs to the $s$-th secant varieties of the standard Veronese variety $X_{m,d}\subset \mathbb{P}^{{m+d\choose d}-1}$ but that its minimal decomposition as a sum of $d$-th powers of linear forms $M_1, ..., M_r$ is $F=M_1^d+... + M_r^d$ with $r>s$. We show that if $s+r\leq 2d+1$ then such a decomposition of $F$ can be split in two parts: one of them is made by linear forms that can be written using only two variables, the other part is uniquely determined once one has fixed the first part. We also obtain a uniqueness theorem for the minimal decomposition of $F$ if the rank is at most $d$ and a mild condition is satisfied.Comment: final version. Math. Z. (to appear

Tunable Knot Segregation in Copolyelectrolyte Rings Carrying a Neutral Segment

We use Langevin dynamics simulations to study the knotting properties of copolyelectrolyte rings carrying neutral segments. We show that by solely tuning the relative length of the neutral and charged blocks, one can achieve different combinations of knot contour position and size. Strikingly, the latter is shown to vary nonmonotonically with the length of the neutral segment; at the same time, the knot switches from being pinned at the block's edge to becoming trapped inside it. Model calculations relate both effects to the competition between two adversarial mechanisms: the energy gain of localizing one or more of the knot's essential crossings on the neutral segment and the entropic cost of such localization. Tuning the length of the neutral segment sets the balance between the two mechanisms and hence the number of localized essential crossings, which in turn modulates the knot's size. This general principle ought to be useful in more complex systems, such as multiblock copolyelectrolytes, to achieve a more granular control of topological constraints

Tuning Knotted Copolyelectrolyte Conformations via Solution Properties

We used Langevin dynamics simulations to study coarse-grained knotted copolyelectrolytes, composed by a neutral and a charged segment, in solutions of different salt concentrations, valency, and solvent screening power. We show that the facile variation of these parameters allows for tuning the length and position of the knotted region, which in turn controls the overall metric properties. Specifically, adding either monovalent or divalent ions causes the knot to swell at the expense of the copolyelectrolyte overall size. However, the knot typically straddles the charged-neutral interface in the presence of monovalent counterions, whereas it is attracted on the charged segment with divalent ones. Notably, similar modulations of knot size and position can also be achieved by varying the dielectric constant of the solvent. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of harnessing the solution-mediated balance of electrostatics and conformational entropy toward a facile external tuning of the conformational properties of knotted polymers

Ground state and excitation dynamics in Ag doped helium clusters

We present a quantum Monte Carlo study of the structure and energetics of silver doped helium clusters AgHen for n up to 100. Our simulations show the first solvation shell of the Ag atom to include roughly 20 He atoms, and to possess a structured angular distribution. Moreover, the P-2(1/2)<--S-2(1/2) and P-2(3/2)<--S-2(1/2) electronic transitions of the embedded silver impurity have been studied as a function of the number of helium atoms. The computed spectra show a redshift for nless than or equal to15 and an increasing blueshift for larger clusters, a feature attributed to the effect of the second solvation shell of He atoms. For the largest cluster, the computed excitation spectrum is found in excellent agreement with the ones recorded in superfluid He clusters and bulk. No signature of the direct formation of the proposed AgHe2 exciplex is present in the computed spectrum of AgHe100. To explain the absence of the fluorescent D-2 line in the experiments, a relaxation mechanism between the P-2(3/2) and the P-2(1/2) states is proposed on the basis of the partial overlap of the excitation bands in the simulated spectra. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics

Thermodynamic properties of ammonia clusters (NH(3))(n) n=2-11: Comparing classical and quantum simulation results for hydrogen bonded species

Classical and quantum simulations of ammonia clusters in the dimer through the hendecamer range are performed using the stereographic projection path integral. Employing the most recent polarizable potential to describe intermolecular interactions, energetic and structural data obtained with our simulations provide support for a more fluxional or flexible nature at low temperature of the ammonia dimer, pentamer, and hexamer than in the other investigated species. The octamer and the hendecamer display a relatively strong melting peak in the classical heat capacity and a less intense but significant melting peak in the quantum heat capacity. The latter are shifted to lower temperature (roughly 15 and 40 K lower, respectively) by the quantum effects. The features present in both classical and quantum constant volume heat capacity are interpreted as an indication of melting even in the octamer case, where a large energy gap is present between its global minimum and second most stable species. We develop a first order finite difference algorithm to integrate the geodesic equations in the inertia ellipsoid generated by n rigid nonlinear bodies mapped with stereographic projections. We use the technique to optimize configurations and to explore the potential surface of the hendecamer

Tuturan Direktif dalam Novel Rembulan Tenggelam di Wajahmu Karya Tere Liye

Penelitian ini untuk mendeskripsikan fungsi tindak tutur direktif dalam novel Rembulan Tenggelam di Wajahmu karya Tere Liye dan mendeskripsikan strategi penutur menyampaikan maksud kepada petutur dalam tuturan direktif pada novel Rembulan Tenggelam di Wajahmu karya Tere Liye. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Data diperoleh menggunakan teknik baca dan teknik catat. Kemudian, data dianalisis dengan membaca teks tertulis terlebih dahulu kemudian mencatat bagian-bagian sesuai dengan permasalahan yang akan diteliti menggunakan buku kecil. Dari data yang diperoleh di dalam novel Rembulan Tenggelam di Wajahmu karya Tere Liye, fungsi tuturan direktif yang ditemukan antara lain tindak tutur direktif perintah yaitu fungsi memerintah, menyuruh, mengintruksikan, mengharuskan, memaksa, dan menyilakan. Tindak tutur direktif permintaan yaitu fungsi meminta, mengharap, memohon, dan menawarkan. Tindak tutur direktif ajakan yaitu fungsi mengajak, merayu, mendukung, dan mendesak. Tindak tutur direktif nasihat yaitu menasihati, menganjurkan, menyarankan, mengarahkan, menyerukan, dan mengingatkan. Tindak tutur direktif kritikan yaitu fungsi menyindir, mengumpat, mengecam, mengancam, dan marah. Tindak tutur direktif larangan yaitu fungsi melarang dan mencegah. Tindak tutur direktif pertanyaan yaitu fungsi menanyakan. dan tindak tutur direktif bujukan yaitu fungsi membujuk. Strategi yang digunakan dalam novel Rembulan Tenggelam di Wajahmu karya Tere Liye yaitu strategi tindak tutur langsung, tindak tutur langsung literal, dan tindak tutur langsung tidak literal